When the Boston Police Department tweeted out a Black History Month high-five to former Celtics exec Red Auerbach, Mayor Marty responded with a statement:

“Yesterday’s tweet from the Boston Police Department was completely inappropriate and a gross misrepresentation of how we are honoring Black History Month in Boston.”

Inappropriate? Red was the first NBA coach to draft a black player and field an all-black starting five. Later as team president, he hired Bill Russell to be the first-ever black head coach in the NBA. How is remembering him “inappropriate” during Black History Month?

Oh, that’s right: Red was white. And so now Boston liberals are blue.

They’re blue because … uh, yeah — that’s where I get lost, too.

I’m not big on race-specific events like Black History Month or Miss Hispanic USA or “The Left-Handed Pacific Islanders Softball League,” etc. But I think — and correct me if I’m wrong here — the point of Black History Month is remembering and celebrating events related to the history of black people in the United States. You know — like, say, the end of slavery, or the passing of the Voting Rights Act, or (not nearly as profound but still a pretty big deal) the first black player and coach in the NBA.

Here’s the problem: How do you celebrate any of these major moments in black history without talking about those “inappropriate” people who made them possible?

How did Chuck Cooper become the first black player drafted by an NBA team? How did Earl Lloyd become the first to play in an NBA regular-season game in 1950? Did it happen because these athletes were so amazingly talented the color bar fell before them? Of course not. For years, tremendously talented athletes were kept out of the NBA by the racist policies of the league.

Who ended those racist policies? The guys who ran the league — the white guys.

Arguing that the BPD “did something wrong” by honoring Auerbach during Black History Month, as lovable local liberal David Bernstein claims, is like arguing that honoring Abraham Lincoln or Ulysses S. Grant during Black History Month is wrong, too. And that’s just …

Hey, waitaminute — you loony lefties are against that, too? Then how can we have a Black History Month, or anything else like it?

The central event at the core of the black experience in America is slavery and its impact. And who ended slavery? Who liberated 4 million black Americans? Why, President Abraham [inappropriate] and the armies of General Ulysses S. [redacted], of course!

And in 1965, who pushed the Voting Rights Act — the most important legislation related to justice for black Americans since the 13th Amendment — through an all-white U.S. Senate? Over the objections of his fellow Democrats? President Lyndon Baines J—ust not gonna say his name, are we?

Yes, Red Auerbach was “inappropriately” white. That is the ugly truth. And if he hadn’t been white, he wouldn’t have been able to play his role in history. No, Red didn’t make Bill Russell a superstar. Russell did that on his own, with talent and hard work.

But you know what Russell couldn’t do in 1966? Make himself the head coach of an NBA team. That took a white guy.

Ah, but we can’t mention that guy until March 1. That’s when the facts will stop being “inappropriate” and return to being mere history once again.

Michael Graham is a regular contributor to the Boston Herald. His daily podcast is available at www.michaelgraham.com.